Repeat: to take a course again that IS marked as “may be repeated.” Examples include topics courses, teaching seminars or internships.

Retake: to take a course again that is NOT marked as “may be repeated.”

Repeatable Courses

1. Certain courses note in their descriptions that they “may be repeated once” or “may be repeated as the topic changes.” Students may repeat such courses within those restrictions and receive credit each time.

2. Each grade for such repeated courses is computed in the student’s grade point average; a repeat grade does not replace the original grade.

3. Only courses stating in the description that they may be repeated may be taken more than once for credit.

Retaking Courses

1. Unless a course is designated as repeatable for credit, students must obtain written permission from their general academic advisor to retake the course during the fall and spring semesters (see 6 and 7 below). Permission to retake is rarely given to students who received a letter grade of C or better.

2. Students are considered to have taken a course if they remain in the course past the add/drop deadline, regardless of the grade received in the course.

3. Credits for retaken courses will count once toward cumulative credits, but will count each time toward semester load. Each grade received in the course will be averaged into the cumulative grade point average. A retake grade does not replace the original grade.

4. Students who receive permission to retake a course may not exercise the P/NC option for that course.

5. Students wishing to take a course more than twice must submit a petition to the appropriate committee on academic standing and appeals. In support of this petition form, students must include written approval from the undergraduate program director of the department offering the course.

6. Students wishing to retake courses should consider doing so in the summer and winter sessions, if possible, as their registration opportunities in fall or spring semesters may be limited.

7. Although students are permitted to register for a second attempt of any course in summer or winter without written permission, it is expected that they will consult with an academic advisor.

8. Students registering for 'High Demand/Controlled Access Courses' (HD/CA) for the first time will have priority to do so. Students wishing to take an HD/CA course for a second time must meet with an academic advisor to request permission. If permission is granted, and if seats remain available, students will have the opportunity to register after all students taking the course for the first time have been accommodated. Alternatively, students may retake HD/CA courses during the summer or winter sessions without priority limitations, or may take an equivalent course at another institution. Students seeking to take courses at other institutions should seek pre-approval from the relevant department at Stony Brook and file a Transfer Course Evaluation Form with the Transfer Office. All other aspects of the course retake policy (as detailed in items 1-7) remain in effect for HD/CA courses.

Mutually exclusive courses are courses whose content is so similar that students who have taken one will be repeating the material if they take the other. Such courses are identified in their Under-graduate Bulletin descriptions with the notation “not for credit in addition to ABC ###.” Students risk losing both credits and grade in the second of two courses that are designated mutually exclusive.

Crosslisted Courses

Crosslisted courses are courses offered under the auspices of two or more departments and are identified by the notation “This course is offered as both ABC ### and XYZ ###” in the Undergraduate Bulletin and the course catalog in the SOLAR System, and by the notation “Crosslisted with ABC ###” in the Class Schedule. Crosslisted courses may also be indicated with a slash, such as AFH/PHI 379 or HIS 334/WST 336. The title, course description, prerequisite(s), and credit hours for crosslisted courses are identical. A crosslisted course is taught by the same instructor and meets in the same location and at the same time as the course with which it is crosslisted. Students may register under either designator but may not repeat the course by enrolling a second time under the other designator.

Coscheduled Courses

Coscheduled courses are upper-division undergraduate courses that are taught at the same time and in the same location as graduate courses. The undergraduate and graduate versions of the course must have separate requirements as described in the syllabi for the courses and separate grading policies for undergraduate and graduate students.